upend

[ uhp-end ]

/ ʌpˈɛnd /

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See synonyms for: upend / upended on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to set on end, as a barrel or ship.

to affect drastically or radically, as tastes, opinions, reputations, or systems.

to defeat in competition, as in boxing or business.

verb (used without object)

to become upended.

to place the body back-end up, as a dabbling duck.

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Origin of upend

First recorded in 1815–25; up- + end¹

Words nearby upend

Updike, updo, updraft, updraught, updrift, upend, UPF, upfold, up for grabs, up-front, upgather

How to use upend in a sentence

Fortune recently spoke with cofounders Shipman and Renahan to learn more about their insights and predictions for their business and the plant-based food industry after a year in which grocery shopping was completely upended.
Changing the plant-based food industry one spoon at a time|Rachel King|February 7, 2021|Fortune
Even as the pandemic upends the restaurant world, this reform can and must happen.
The Toxicity of Restaurant Kitchens Is Exactly Why I Never Reported Abuses|Lindsey Danis|February 4, 2021|Eater
It also shows that the same disruptive sentiments that upended American politics in recent years are now taking aim at the financial system.
The GameStop stock craze is about a populist uprising against Wall Street. But it’s more complicated than that.|David J. Lynch|February 1, 2021|Washington Post
It’s a huge understatement to say the pandemic upended everything.
Collaborative planning in an uncertain world|Martha Leibs|February 1, 2021|MIT Technology Review

The disease’s terrifying ability to so swiftly upend the rhythms and rituals of everyday life only added to the war’s larger social disruptions.
The key to combating conspiracy theories about coronavirus vaccines|Cameron Givens|February 1, 2021|Washington Post
It is a revolutionary story, which threatens to upend the world as we know it.
Jesus Wasn’t Born Rich. Think About It.|Gene Robinson|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It would inject a threat of accountability into power, and upend the impunity wartime leaders had operated under for years.
The Man Who Invented the Word ‘Genocide’|Nina Strochlic|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In August, Sen. Ted Cruz linked the need to upend the IRS to its abuse of power.
Huckabee: ‘A Tax Is Punishment’|Lloyd Green|September 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
[S]omething larger is going on here, which could upend everything and produce unintended consequences.
There Are No “True” Independent Voters in American Politics|Jamelle Bouie|December 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The one event that could upend that is an encore from a passive, disengaged Obama.
Robert Shrum on the Vice Presidential Debate: Biden’s Win Was a Big F@$&ing Deal|Robert Shrum|October 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST
It is safe, as we will never meet again, and all ideas of justice will upend in the coming cataclysm.
The Sequel|George A. Taylor
The log plunges after him, holding him down and back till he drowns; and his whereabouts are revealed by the upend of the tree.
The Story of the Trapper|A. C. Laut

British Dictionary definitions for upend

upend

/ (ʌpˈɛnd) /

verb

to turn or set or become turned or set on end

(tr) to affect or upset drastically

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

upend

Origin of upend

Words nearby upend

Words related to upend

How to use upend in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for upend